What The Duck Is It??

I used to be so terrified of having a son, and I never really knew why...

One day I came across an article that appalled me. It was about cutting parts of babies genitals off. Looking back, it was biased in favor of doing so. 😱

That day I learned a lot of things. I went from confusion 😮 & disgust 😷 to rage 😠 & sadness 😭. I tore through article after article for hours & ended with watching a video of the "procedure".

That day I made 2 decisions. 1) I would never, EVER allow that to happen to my children. 🙅👶💪 And 2) I couldn't keep my mouth shut about it. I had to shout from the rooftops the truth I had uncovered. 📣 I had to MAKE IT STOP!

That day I became an Intactivist. 💪💙

I went into this being entirely clueless. I literally didn't even know circumcision existed...

But somehow, a weight was lifted from my shoulders.

For the first time, I allowed myself to feel my want to have my own son. I didn't feel unreasonably terrified anymore! My heart swelled knowing that if I did, I wouldn't have to hurt him! I felt so light & full of joy & from then on, I didn't crush & stuff my feeling of wanting a boy.

Over 3 years later I am excited to announce that we finally got our boy! 💙💙💙

We went to a place called The Stork's Nest for a sex revealing ultrasound at 17 weeks. I was so nervous going in because this is most likely our last child & I was afraid I'd never get the son I wanted so badly. I would have loved our baby no matter what, as I always have, but I can't say I wouldn't have been disappointed had it been a 3rd girl. 😂

I couldn't have been happier with our experience or the results! Haha! The place was so cozy, like being inside of a nice home. The staff were kind to my curious little children & kindly helpful. They took their time instead of rushing through & my children got to sit on the bed with me watching on a big screen their little brother sucking his thumb & wriggling around. They were discreet about telling me the sex so that I could share the news with my family on my own terms. And the tech didn't hurt me. For some reason ultrasounds have always left me sore but this lady was so gentle! And this lady didn't cringe & act nuts when my toddler decided she needed to comfort nurse for a moment right there on that comfy bed with me. ❤

We finally got our boy!🎈🎉 I was in shock for a while, thinking there was no way I had gotten this lucky! 🍀 When the reality of it hit me, I won't lie, I cried like a big blubbering baby. The relief and the amount of joy just came flowing out!

We were going to keep it a secret from the kids until we did our reveal with them, but my eldest (6) apparently reads better than I realized so as we were sitting together watching the ultrasound again (they gave me a recording) she suddenly looked at me and said, "That's a penis isn't it? I'm having a baby brother." (I had the tech write Male instead of Boy but Z put 2 & 2 together lol!) When she saw the look on my face she gave me a bear hug shouting, "I'M HAVING A BABY BROTHER!" and proceeded to run around the house screaming it from the rooftops! After a couple of minutes it changed from that to, "I SAVED MY FIRST BABY!!!" Haha!

Let's just say that this mama couldn't be any more proud! Nor could she apparently. 😂😍

We're still going to do the thing we planned for the reveal because it's fun & we already bought the supplies, and Z promised to act surprised. LOL!

I couldn't be more lucky & blessed & full of joy you guys. The Local Crazy Foreskin Lady finally has a son!

So without further ado, meet my son, William James Rieck. Due in June 2017! 💙💚👶💙💚

William at its core means "Will to protect" and James means "One who follows". I take this to mean that my precious son will follow in my footsteps by protecting his own children & fight to protect others. It's not the reason I chose this particular name, but it surely is fitting!

Yay for the #IntactGeneration and the #RippleEffect in action!